Extend Freeze On Loan Repayments Another 6 Months Mtuc Says

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The current moratorium on loan repayments will end in September.PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) today called for the six-month moratorium for housing and car loan repayments to be extended by another half a year
In a statement, MTUC secretary-general J Solomon said the initiative, introduced in March, had been of great help to the workers
“(Extending it for another six months) would greatly benefit thousands of workers who have either lost their jobs or been forced to take massive pay cuts, rendering them unable to service their loans during this difficult period,” he said
He also urged the government to come up with ways to keep workers in their jobs, shield them from unfair pay cuts and reduce household expenses
Instead of utilising conventional methods such as dishing out one-off cash payments, he said, Putrajaya should introduce measures to provide a sustainable safety net for workers
He criticised the move to have workers dip into their EPF savings to meet household expenses as well as the use of Socso funds to pay for health checks, calling these counterproductive to their interests
Saying the government has sizeable foreign reserves at its disposal, he urged it to give serious thought to using some of them
“(This is) something that other countries have done to ensure that the welfare and livelihoods of workers is protected
“(It will) give meaning to the prime minister’s pledge that no one will be left behind in the government’s efforts to mitigate the Covid-19 crisis.” - FMT

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